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Alay Soler
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
|
|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Pirates — No. 58 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| May 24, 2006 for the New York Mets | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through 2006) |
|
| Win-Loss | 2-3 |
| Earned Run Average | 6.00 |
| Strikeouts | 23 |
| Former teams | |
Alain (Alay) Soler (born October 9, 1979) is a major league baseball pitcher who currently plays for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Soler was born in Pinar del Rio, Cuba, where he attended high school at Espa Armani Arenado and played baseball for four years. He graduated from Nancy Uranga University with a physical education degree.
Soler played baseball for his country in the World University Games in Cuba in 1998 and in Italy in 2002. He also participated in the World Youth Games in 1996 and was a teammate of José Contreras on Pinar del Río in the Cuban National Series. He later played as a member of the Cuban national team.
Soler defected from Cuba in November, 2003, receiving political asylum in the Dominican Republic. He pitched for Leones del Escogido in the Dominican Winter Baseball League in 2004, recording a 0-2 record and a 5.28 ERA in five games. In 15.1 innings, he allowed 14 hits, nine runs, earned, with six walks and 23 strikeouts. He recorded 10 strikeouts and permitted one hit in 5.0 innings of work on October 26 vs. Estrellas Orientales. Soler averaged 13.5 strikeouts per nine innings pitched.
In September, 2004, Soler signed a three-year, $2.8 million major league contract with the New York Mets. However, he was unable to obtain a visa for entry into the United States until November, 2005. He began his career as a Met with the class A St. Lucie Mets in April, 2006, but was quickly promoted to the AA Binghamton Mets in May, 2006.
Soler made his major league debut as a starter at Shea Stadium on May 24, 2006. He gave up two earned runs, five hits and four walks in six innings with no decision as the Mets defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4. In Soler's fourth career start (June 10, 2006) he hurled his first complete game shutout, a two-hitter against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Through the first half of 2006, Soler has posted a 2-3 record with a 6.00 ERA.
On July 3, 2006, Soler was sent back to the Norfolk Tides after a poor performance the night before against the New York Yankees.
Soler was given his unconditional release by the Mets on March 12, 2007. He had pitched unimpressively during spring training. On March 19, 2007 he signed with the Pirates.
- Soler has played with Cuban superstars like Jose Contreras and Ariel Pestano when he lived back home in Cuba .
- He played in the Dominican Republic on the same team with such superstars as David Ortiz and Jose Reyes.